


Greatest Show Unearthed

by hobbit_hedgehog



Series: Creature Feature in Night Vale [1]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Carnival, Episode 33 mention, Gen, Greatest Show Unearthed, Halloween, Mirrors, Spooky, creature feature, pre-Pilot episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-09
Updated: 2014-10-09
Packaged: 2018-02-20 11:59:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2427905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobbit_hedgehog/pseuds/hobbit_hedgehog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A carnival comes to Night Vale</p>
            </blockquote>





	Greatest Show Unearthed

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my self-imposed Halloween challenge: Creature Feature in Night Vale. For the month of October, I will be writing Night Vale fics based on the band Creature Feature. This first one is based on the title track from their first album "The Greatest Show Unearthed" and it takes place before the pilot episode of Welcome to Night Vale.

Darkness slowly descended over the town of Night Vale as the disappeared behind the horizon. The usual cacophony that came with the sunset accompanied the slow moving mob that was making its way through Old Town towards the up and coming Abandoned Lot Neighborhood. At the back of the crowd marched Cecil, his mobile broadcasting equipment strapped to his back. A flyer had been left on his broadcasting desk and the mostly black piece of paper had drawn him in with near magnetic force. The obsidian paper only had the phrase “The Greatest Show Unearthed” printed on it in bold white letters. A hypnotic voice had whispered in the back of Cecil’s mind as he held the paper, telling him to leave, to join the crowd. Cecil had grabbed his broadcasting equipment and left Night Vale Community Radio without his phone and so much as a backwards glance. The mob merged with another as they neared their destination, forcing Cecil into the middle of the joined groups. Before the crowd loomed a tall, black gate with a red, tattered curtain hanging in front of the archway. Beyond the gate, Cecil could see a massive, slow spinning wheel and could hear the sounds of terrified screams and the clitter-clatter of a wooden rollercoaster.

“Seems pretty normal to me,” Cecil mused as the crowd slowed to a crawl.

At the front of the gate stood a stout male with gaunt features mutton chops, a comically over-large top hat resting on his head. As the crowd shuffled forward, he lifted a megaphone to his lips, “Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and ghouls! Step right up! Behind this curtain lies a ghastly concoction of delight! Horror! Fantasy and terror! Your every wish is our command; your every whimsical desire brought to life. But I’m warning you: there is always a price. Welcome to the Greatest Show Unearthed!”

With a flourish, the man stepped to the side and the curtain was swept aside. The mob trickled in through the gate into the formerly abandoned lot, each person pausing briefly to mutter “Interloper” at the man. Cecil switched on his mobile broadcasting kit as he stood among the crowd and waited to enter.

“Listeners,” Cecil began, “today we have been visited by a strange group of people. For those of you who have resisted the pull of the flyer and have not joined the crowd, a carnival has arrived in Night Vale today. They are currently set up in the abandoned lot neighborhood, you know, the up and coming one. No word yet from the Sheriff’s Secret Police on the approval status of the carnival. More on that as I explore the grounds. And now, a word from our sponsors.”

Cecil switched off his broadcasting equipment as he reached the gate. He quickly muttered “Interloper” at the ticket taker before passing under the arch. Cecil paused and took in his surroundings. Much like the flyer and the archway, the carnival had a grotesque black, white and red theme. People dressed in skeleton costumes danced around on stilts in front of the radio host before passing by a two-headed contortionist. Cecil gave the contortionist an impressed nod before turning away. Screams erupted from various rides as citizens were battered, dismembered or killed.

“Ye-up, seems pretty normal to me,” Cecil mused as he passed by a bloodied clown. Cecil stood by the food tents and watched several citizens succumb to poisoned cotton candy before turning his broadcasting equipment back on, “Well listeners, it looks like the carnival is in full swing down here. The rides are up and running and the carnival employees are doing their best to keep us entertained. Just stay away from the Ferris Wheel and avoid the cotton candy if you don’t want to experience painful internal bleeding. Otherwise, come on down and enjoy the carnival as you normally would- Hello? What’s this?”

Cecil paused as he came face-to-face with a large sign that read “Fun House”. No one appeared to be manning the red tent behind the sign and no one appeared to be going in or out of it. Cecil’s interest was piqued.

“Listeners, do I have a fun event for you. We’re about to take a trip. A trip into the unknown. A trip that I will begin alone and include you in after a brief pause. As I leave you to prepare yourself mentally and I begin this little adventure, I give you: The Weather.”

A soft music box melody began to fill the carnival grounds, causing several people to stop and cause pileups in the middle of the midway. Cecil switched off his equipment once again and approached the tent with excitement. Cecil pulled the tent flap aside and strode into the tent. The interior was dark and once Cecil stepped fully inside and let the flap drop back into place, Cecil was plunged into total darkness. 

Cecil took a few tentative steps forward and called out into the darkness, “Hello? Is anyone there? My name is Cecil Palmer. I’m a reporter and radio host from Night Vale Community Radio.”

Silence answered Cecil, the radio host’s words ringing in his ears in the total silence of the tent.

“Something’s not right here,” Cecil thought, a creeping feeling making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. 

He shivered with unease before venturing deeper inside of the tent. Within a few more steps, Cecil came in contact with a cold, smooth, vertical surface. Cecil pressed his hand flat against it and took a few steps to the left. The surface made a squeaking noise as flesh was dragged against it.

“This is definitely not the tent wall,” Cecil murmured before moving back towards the right. As he moved, Cecil’s shoulder bumped into another smooth surface, “Well, back to the left it is then.”

Cecil placed his hand on the surface in front of him before turning his body slightly. He turned his broadcasting system back on before he took slow steps forward, keeping one hand in front of him as he went.

“Listeners, I am currently in the Fun House tent at the carnival. If anyone can hear this, I would greatly appreciate some company. It is pitch black in here and there are unknown, smooth surfaces all around me. I don’t know what is in here, but I plan to find out.”

Cecil continued until his hand came in contact with another surface. Cecil made a left turn, followed by a quick right. He continued in the vein for some minutes, narrating as he went.

“I don’t know how far into the Fun House I have gone Listeners,” Cecil said as he rounded another corner. “I do know that I have been at this for some time and I have not come across anyone. It is still so very dark in here and I-.”

Cecil paused as his hand slipped from the wall. He stumbled forward, barely catching himself before he hit the floor. Cecil stood and spun on the spot, trying to regain his bearings.

“Listeners, I have lost the wall,” Cecil said, panicking slightly as he turned. “I do not know what this place is and my spatial awareness is pretty limited. I never quite mastered my spatial awareness training as a scout and therefore never got my badge. To my dear friend, Scout Master Earl Harlan, if you can hear this, please come find me-.”

Cecil’s plea was cut short as the tent was filled with a sudden burst of light. Cecil’s eyes slammed shut as he gave a shout of surprise and covered his face. Cecil could hear chanting all around him, disorienting him further. Cecil lowered his hands from his face and cracked his eyes open, squinting against the light. As he opened his eyes more, Cecil wished that he had kept them shut. Cecil was staring at his reflection for the first time in years, and his reflection did not hold the same expression of fear that his own face carried. His mouth was twisted into a cruel smile and his eyes were stone cold.

“Oh, masters of us all,” Cecil whispered, his voice barely audible as he slowly turned. The room was full of uncovered mirrors, all of which contained himself with varying expressions but the same dead eyes. “Oh gods, what is this place?”

“You will die here Cecil,” the reflections murmured as one. “You will die here. Here. Here!”

Cecil was frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at the numerous reflections. He slowly sank to his knees muttering “No” over and over again as he covered his ears.

“This cannot be real. This **CANNOT** be **REAL.** ”

“ _All the mirrors in my house are uncovered now, and I’m not sure who did that. I’m standing in front of the hall mirror right now,_ ” a nasally, yet distant voice crooned in Cecil’s ear. “ _I’m looking in a mirror. The mirror is not covered. The flickering movement is just…behind me. I–._ ”

The sounds of prepubescent screams and strangled, gargling noises snapped Cecil out of his frozen state. He screamed in fear before lurching to his feet. Cecil staggered backwards towards the exit only to slam into one of the mirrors. There was a sound of glass breaking, but Cecil had already lurched in a different direction. By some miracle, Cecil made his way out of the room of mirrors, only to find that the hallway was lined with the reflective surfaces. He shut his eyes and ran forwards, trying to block out the screams and death threats as he hurtled down the hall.

“I have to get out,” Cecil chanted to himself. “I HAVE TO GET OUT!”

Cecil rounded one last corner and with a final burst of speed, he threw himself through the tent flap. Cecil landed in the dirt of the midway and instantly began to heave. He pushed himself onto his hands and knees as he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the dirt below. Once finished, Cecil shakily rose to his feet and looked around. Nighttime had completely descended over Night Vale, the cool October air adding to Cecil’s shiver as he looked around. The abandoned lot was empty, there was no sign that a carnival had ever been set up. Cecil looked back towards the spot where the Fun House tent had been, only to find a dark stain where the red tent had been. A metallic stench hung in the air as Cecil turned his back on the spot.

“Listeners, I don’t know what happened inside that tent. I’m not even sure there was a tent at all to be honest. But I do know one thing listeners: we should never, EVER host another carnival in Night Vale ever again.”


End file.
